


Like This

by IdPattThat



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avengers Family, Dad!Steve, Family Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-23
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2018-07-16 21:09:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7284871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IdPattThat/pseuds/IdPattThat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Rogers knows a lot of things about a lot of things...except fatherhood.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Look, I got some Dad!Steve feels. That's all this is. Probably.

He’s lacing up his running shoes as the shower turns off. The sound of the curtain sliding open drifts through the door and he can hear the soft thud as her feet hit the rug. He can almost see her step out, wrap a fluffy towel around her slim body, being sure to tuck in the corner so it doesn’t slip. Then she’ll bend at the waist, letting her wet hair fall down and wrap another towel around it in that way that only ladies know how. 

Steve smiles at the thought of her, but his heart still aches for the choice he has to make. He’s still sitting on the bed when she comes out of the bathroom, only she’s not wrapped up in her towels like he’d imagined. Like he’s seen her do for the past…well, he doesn’t really know how long he’s been staying at Sharon’s place instead of his own. She smiles, tugging at the strap of her tank top and smoothing it down before sitting next to him on the edge of the bed. 

If he were being honest Steve actually hoped to be already on his run before she got out of the shower. The thought makes him feel like a coward. 

“Hey.” She smiles and nudges his shoulder with hers, but he doesn’t budge. It’s like a fly pushing against a window. 

Steve returns her smile and wraps an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close and kissing her temple. They stay like that for a long moment, neither of them speaking. It isn’t until he feels her tears soaking through his shirt does he pull away with a worried look on his face. 

“What’s wrong?” Steve asks as he quickly swipes at her cheeks to wipe her tears away. 

“Nothing. Everything,” Sharon says with a weak smile. “This. Us.” 

He sighs and presses her forehead against hers. “I know.” 

It had been a whirlwind type of romance, both of them getting caught up in the secrets and excitement of everything. Once it all died down, so did their feelings. Both of them knew it. It was hard to let go, though. Their relationship was convenient, easy...but it wasn’t good enough and they both wanted more. 

“I’ve been wanting to talk about it for a while, I just didn’t know how.” 

Steve smiles sadly. “Yeah, me too.” 

“And then I finally dig up the courage and-” she hiccups and ducks her head. 

“And what?” He asks, bringing her face back to his. 

Her eyes fill with fresh tears and she shakes her head. 

“You can tell me anything,” Steve says quietly. 

Sharon takes a deep breath to steady herself and meets his gaze. 

“I’m pregnant.”


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This story doesn't really take place in any universe except my head. Expect nonsense.

_Pregnant_.

The word ran through Steve’s head like and old film reel. It wasn’t something he thought he’d get to hear in his lifetime. Hell, it wasn’t something he thought he would even want…until now.

“Hey, man, are you okay?” Sam’s voice brings him back to reality. To the sound of feet on the pavement and the burn in his chest.

“What? Yeah, why?”

“Because you’re as slow as me, that’s why!” Sam teases. Steve just shakes his head and slows to a walk. They veer off the path and find a spot in the shade, much like the day they first met. Sam stretches but Steve focuses on some point in the distance, his mind still racing.

“This thing with Sharon…”

“Oh, I get it. You’re coming to me with lady troubles. That’s cool. I can help.”

Steve laughs nervously and wipes his sweaty palms on his pants.

“It’s not that. Not really.”

Sam doesn’t say anything for a long moment, just stares at Steve until it’s uncomfortable and he has to look away. Since they’ve started working together and their friendship has grown Steve has discovered that sometimes Sam notices more than he lets on. Sometimes it can be a little invasive.

“Oh, shit.” Steve offers a faint smile in his friend’s direction.

“That’s happening?” Sam asks and Steve nods.

“That is happening,” he agrees.

“Uh…congrats?” Sam says, a little unsure.

“Yeah. _Yeah._ Thanks. I mean, it’s crazy but…I’m happy.”

“Dude, you’re going to be, like, the oldest dad in the world.” Sam grins, but Steve’s look is anything but amused. He reaches out and, before Sam has a chance to defend himself, punches him in the shoulder, knocking him off balance and hoping it leaves a mark. Then he’s gone. Running faster than earlier.

“Captain America is such an asshole,” Sam mutters and he swears he can hear Steve laugh.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh...sorry?

It isn’t easy, but they make it work. Steve teases that they’ve been trained to be in uncomfortable and even hostile situations, so living together during an unexpected pregnancy shouldn’t be a problem. 

Sharon doesn’t speak to him for three days after the “hostile situation” remark. Not until Steve shows up at her office with a cup of coffee from her favorite place. He explains that it’s decaf, because he’s been doing his research, and she almost smiles before leaving him standing alone in the hallway. 

Things are okay after that. There are doctor’s appointments and birthing classes to go to. They shop for gender neutral items because Steve doesn’t want to know the sex of the baby, even though he hates surprises. The Avengers throw them a baby shower that’s completely awkward because the guys don’t really know the first thing about babies. Except Clint but he’s unusually quiet during the whole thing and Natasha is, well, Natasha. 

She does give them a beautiful hand-made yellow blanket, but she just shrugs and smiles when Steve asked her who made it. 

X

The baby comes early and Steve is halfway across the country when it happens. The QuinJet doesn’t move as fast as he wants it to and Clint can’t help but tell him that pacing isn’t going to make it go any faster. 

“The first ones take a long time. Don’t worry about it, Cap,” Clint calls, but Steve ignores him. It’s weird to hear Clint talk about kids when the team didn’t even know his existed.   
As it turns out Clint is right. In the few hours is took them to get to D.C. there wasn’t much progress. Natasha is waiting outside the room reading a magazine when Steve finally arrives. She raises an eyebrow at him and he shrugs before going inside. 

Sharon smiles tiredly. “Sorry, I tried to wait.” 

Steve only laughs and kisses the top of her head because even though they aren’t together, they’re in it together. 

A few hours later his daughter is born. In those first few moments of excitement he can do nothing but stand back and watch the people move around the small room. Then, when the little squirming ball is tucked into his arms, time stops. 

Steve knows immediately that nothing else will ever compare to this moment. This tiny, crying person in his arms is the love of his life and he has never been happier.


	4. Chapter Four

They name her Sarah Margaret, but call her Maggie. The first few weeks are the hardest for both of them. Sharon is tired and her usually calm demeanor slips away. Steve walks on eggshells around her, despite his overwhelming happiness. He doesn’t know what it must feel like for Sharon but he hopes that she feels at least a portion of the love he feels for their daughter. Besides the love there is also the fear. Fear for Maggie’s safety keeps both of them up at night. Well, that and the fact that she doesn’t sleep for more than a couple of hours at a time. 

There also a deep-seated fear in Steve that he will be the one to hurt his daughter. He has been in his stronger body long enough to know how to handle most situations, but the fragileness of an infant is new to him. She’s so small that he can’t help but feel a jolt of fear before each time he picks her up (and he picks her up a lot). But then she looks at him with her big, wondering eyes. She smiles at the sound of his voice and wraps her tiny hands around his much larger ones and Steve Rogers melts into a pile Star-Spangled goo. 

It doesn’t take long for them to get into a routine. Steve stays at Sharon’s nearly every night, unless he is working. They share a bed, though it’s more out of convenience than anything else. Sharon’s apartment is small and Steve found that he is too big for the couch. Most nights he finds himself on Maggie’s floor, feeling safer just being close by. Eventually the kinks iron themselves out. Sharon becomes more like herself and returns to work, and Maggie is healthy and happy. Steve goes on missions, leaving a piece of himself in Sharon’s apartment each time. He hates being away from Maggie, but it’s his job. Something he never felt the need to question until he became a father. 

For six months they do this until Steve comes home to his own apartment one day and finds that his spare room has been transformed into a nursery just like Maggie’s room at Sharon’s. His friends helped Sharon with the remodeling even though they constantly question them bout a reconciliation. Both Steve and Sharon know a romantic relationship is not in the cards for them. 

So, it goes like this for a while. They are happy and Maggie grows and thrives. She does what normal babies do and they fret like normal parents. 

Things are perfect. Until they aren’t.


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess this is still happening.

Sharon has a date. Well, actually, she has a third date. Steve only knows it’s happening because when she drops off Maggie at his door she’s wearing something other than slacks or sweatpants. She’s wearing a dress and he’ll be damned if she doesn’t look beautiful in it.

“Love you,” Sharon whispers as she kisses the side of Maggie’s curly blonde head; and then she’s gone leaving the soft scent of her perfume behind.

“Huh,” Steve says to himself as he closes the door. Maggie imitates the sound and grins up at her dad, a sight that Steve loves to see.

He forgets about Sharon, that black dress and those red lips…for a while, at least.  

As nervous as being a parent has made him, Steve feels like he’s doing pretty well in the grand scheme of things. The time he spends with Maggie is precious to him. He ignores his phone and the news and whatever else might distract him from her. Instead he lays around on the floor, watches her crawl and chew on things. He listens to babble and responds back with full sentences.

“I know, Mags. I can’t believe how great these mashed sweet potatoes taste either,” he tells her as she spits the mushy stuff back out. Steve chuckles and wipes her chin clean with the spoon. A few minutes later she squeals to be let down and he obliges, happy and ready to chase her around the small apartment some more.

When she finally starts winding down he scoops her up for a bath, a bedtime bottle, and a short story. He’s learned so many nursery rhymes by heart in the short time that Maggie has been in his life. Steve knows that eventually she’ll want to read the books and turn the pages, but for now the sound of his voice and the rise and fall of his chest lulls her to sleep. His throat tightens as he watches her and he’s _so thankful_ none of the rest of the team is around. Clint, strangely, would understand, but he’s not so sure about the rest of them.

After a while, Steve’s arm starts to fall asleep so he gently places Maggie in her crib. He runs his fingers gently through her curls and has the sudden urge to draw.

That’s where he is, several hours later, when there’s a knock on his door.

Steve stiffly unfolds his long body and sets his drawing pad and pencils on the table in front of him. He checks the time on his phone just as there is another knock. Groaning, he heads to the door and hopes it isn’t Tony or Natasha who have a bad habit of showing up drunk at his door wanting to talk about things.

“Hey,” he says when he answers the door, surprised. “I didn’t think you’d be back.”

Sharon gives him a small smile and a shrug. She touches his shoulder, balancing herself to slip off her heels when she steps inside. Steve just rolls his eyes as Sharon walks away, slipping stealthily into Maggie’s room and then out a moment later.

“I just didn’t feel like going home yet. It’s different when she’s not there,” Sharon says as she settles into the corner of the couch. Steve gives a quiet chuckle before heading into the kitchen. He comes back with two beers and hands one to Sharon. “How did you know I needed this?”

He shrugs, like she did a moment ago. “I just _thought_ you might.”

She nods and sips, obviously thinking about what she wants to say. Steve raises an eyebrow at her expectantly.

“I wonder if he would have been more freaked out to know that I’m in the CIA rather than the fact that I’m a mother,” she muses quietly.

“Ah. So, this is about men being scared of you?”

“Scared of my kid, actually. I don’t tell most men what I do,” she responds.

“Do you date a lot?” Steve asks and Sharon scoffs. “I’m being serious!”

“Steve, you know I don’t.” Sharon shakes her head and takes another sip of her beer. “I just thought I should get back out there…haven’t you thought about it?”

“I guess,” he says, though it isn’t exactly true.

He’s been happy enough just having Maggie with him. Not to mention training and working with the team. His and Sharon’s lives are different, though, and he can see where she might want something more.

Sharon laughs quietly and stretches out her legs on the couch. Steve instinctively takes one of her feet in his hands and massages it gently. She makes a sound low in her throat and closes her eyes.

“I wish things were different with us,” Sharon says softly.

Steve’s hands still. He places one of them on her knee and shifts so her legs are draped over his thighs. Sharon moves, too, until she’s closer and her head is resting on his shoulder. Steve presses a kiss to her hair before resting his cheek against her head.

He knows he should tell her that he wishes things were different also, but he can’t.

Not yet.


	6. Chapter Six

 Sharon’s still there the next morning, curled up in Steve’s bed. She’s in his shirt and in his sheets while he’s stretching out a stiff neck from sleeping on the couch that he’s too big for. It wasn’t like he didn’t _think_ about crawling into bed with her, because he did. It was all he could do not to sweep her up in his arms when she first arrived back from her date. He didn’t, though. There was a part of Steve that wanted nothing more than to be with Sharon and to give their daughter a proper family. Steve came from another time and he knew that the world had changed, but he hadn’t changed _that much_.

The other part of him was still wary. It had been over a year since he and Sharon had split but they shared a child together, and that wasn’t something Steve could get over.  If Sharon was happy to see other people then he would be happy for her. Their breakup had, of course, been mutual but didn’t mean that all of his feelings had gone away. Or that some of them hadn’t resurfaced recently.

Steve just wanted to be sure what might or might not happen between them would be the real thing. He wanted to know it would stick this time.

In the kitchen he made coffee for him and Sharon and breakfast for all three of them. He usually let Maggie sleep in on the weekends because it was so rare that she did. Steve didn’t mind it, though. He was always up before the sun as it was.

“Hey, there’s Daddy,” he heard Sharon’s voice as he was pouring coffee.

He turned and smiled, his heart stuttering at the site of them. Sharon, still in his shirt with her face scrubbed clean of last night’s makeup and their daughter on her hip.

“I didn’t wake you, did I?” He asked as he rested a hand on Sharon’s cheek and kissed Maggie’s head.

“No, you know I don’t sleep much.” She handed over Maggie who was trying to climb into Steve’s arms. “Daddy’s girl,” she teased as Maggie settled her head against Steve’s shoulder with a soft sigh. Steve just shrugged and smiled before handing Sharon a cup of coffee.

Steve leaned against the counter and let Maggie tug at the collar of his shirt while he watches  Sharon sip her coffee. In the early days after Maggie’s birth they had moments like this but they were awkward. Their conversation was stunted and they were simply going through the motions. Today, having Sharon in his kitchen feels natural, like they’re meant to be in that moment.

He loves her. He knew that much. But the question of being _in love_ is where he struggled. Maggie was still giggling to herself when Sharon’s phone rang and she rushed out of the room to answer it. Steve could hear what seemed liked a heated conversation as he settled Maggie in for breakfast. He tried not to eavesdrop, though. They work on not to bring work up in front of Maggie. It’s not like she can understand them, but they both know they change when talking about work and it that’s not something they want their daughter to see.

“I’ve got to run,” Sharon said with a small frown. Steve couldn’t help but notice that she had changed into her clothes from the night before.

“Crisis?” He asked as she leaned down to kiss Maggie’s head.

“Always,” she replied with a small smile. “I’ll give you a call.”

With that, she turned away, but Steve followed quickly. He caught her arm as she moved to open the door. His thumb grazed over the scar that Rumlow gave her and his blood boiled hot for a moment.

“Come back. Tonight,” he said quietly.

Her eyes met his, silently searching for some hint, for _something_.

“Yeah. I will.”

Steve closed the door behind her and let out a deep sigh. It wasn’t going to be easy, but he wanted to make it work.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO BAD at this. I'm sorry. It will be finished soon.

Sharon’s gone. She never came back after Steve asked her to and no one has seen or heard from her in over forty-eight hours. There was a rendezvous but…she missed it.

Steve wouldn’t have known any of this if he hadn’t asked Tony to hack into the CIA, which he did so gleefully.

That’s how Steve found himself planning a rescue mission with the Avengers in their compound while wearing his daughter in a sling against his chest. She slept peacefully, her tiny hands grasping at Steve’s shirt, while they pored over plans and discussed strategy. When Natasha got loud, Clint shushed her and nodded toward the baby. It took all Nat had not to punch her friend in the face.

“I’m just saying that it’s a terrible idea,” Natasha hissed in a whisper. “Steve should go. If it’s anything like Tony said we’re going to need the extra man power.”

“I just think it’s a bad idea.” Clint shrugged and looked at Steve for support. “I know I wouldn’t want to leave my kids a bunch of orphans if it were up to me.”

“You’re so dramatic, Barton.” Natasha rolled her eyes. “That’s not going to happen. To Steve or you.”

Steve glanced between the two of them, feeling grateful but also torn. He set his hands on his hips and glanced down at his daughter, now awake and happy. He brushed his hand over the top of her head and smiled sadly.

“Clint’s right. If something were to happen to Sharon I’d need to be _here_.”

Clint gloated silently but Natasha just shook her head.

“Babies, turning grown men into mush since the beginning of time…” she muttered.

“Not me,” Tony said as she clapped Natasha on the shoulder. He glanced at Maggie, who smiled and cooed. “Oh my God, never mind. She just smiled at me. I’m a goner.”

“It’s just gas,” Natasha said under her breath.

Steve cracked a smile for the first time since he’d heard the news about Sharon.

“Go. I’ll be here.” Steve gave them a final and they silently agreed. He watched as they bustled around, before finally headed to the QuinJet with nothing but Sharon’s last known location and the tiniest spark of hope.

“We’ll find her,” Natasha said, her voice soft and her eyes on Maggie. She frowned and look up at Steve, whose jaw was so tight she was sure it could cut glass.  

“I’m scared,” he told her quietly.

Natasha sighed as she stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to Steve’s cheek. She smiled as she kissed Maggie’s head.

“ _We’ll find her_.”

With that, she’s gone and he is left alone with his daughter and wondering if he is going to have to raise her just like this…alone.


	8. Chapter Eight

The next forty-eight hours were like living in hell for Steve. He took Maggie back to Sharon’s place so she could be comfortable and familiar with things around her. Steve hadn’t let her out of his sight since Sharon disappeared. Besides Natasha or Clint, no one had even held her besides him.

While Maggie slept, Steve ate and showered. He checked his phone and the secure coms he sent his team out with. There had been no contact, but that didn’t really mean anything. He had been known to be gone for weeks without any contact before a mission was complete.

This was, of course, a not a normal mission. This was a job that Steve had asked his friends to do. That’s all he could think at the moment. He hadn’t ordered his team to do anything. He’d asked his friends to go find the mother of his child.

God, he hoped they found her.

Steve sighed as he fell onto the couch with a cup of coffee in his hands. He turned on the television, just to have some background noise, and opened the file that he’d brought home from the facility. Sharon’s picture was clipped to the inside and his fingers trembled as he slid the picture from underneath the paperclip.

A smile crossed his lips as his thumb slid over Sharon’s face. Maggie was beginning to look more like her every day. The picture was formal, though, not a candid where he could compare their smiles. In Sharon’s eyes, though, he could see more. He could see Peggy. Tears sprang into Steve’s eyes before he could even think about it.

They had gone into their relationship with no secrets between them. Sharon had been close to Peggy, and Peggy had told her all of their WWII stories. Sharon knew Steve before she’d actually met him. Steve didn’t have that advantage. A lot of what he knew about Sharon he’d learned from files like the one in front of him.

He sighed again and put the picture down. There were so many things he wanted to say to Sharon. So many things he would say to her, once the team brought her home.

A few hours later he was awakened by Maggie’s cries from her bedroom. Steve didn’t even remember closing his eyes, let alone falling asleep. He ran a hand over his face before going in and scooping her up. She smiled up at him, oblivious to the crisis surrounding them, and he couldn’t help but smile back. After a quick diaper change he wrapped her close to his body in one of the fancy wraps that Sharon used and made his way to the kitchen for coffee.

He had just taken his first sip, all the while fighting Maggie’s little hands grabbing at his mouth, when his phone rang.

With his hand on his daughter’s back, he answered it.

“Hello?”

A beat of silence before he hears Tony’s voice.

“We have her. We’re coming home.”

 


End file.
